US, NATO using proxy terrorism to achieve neo-colonialistic goals
2 May, 2013 – PressTV – By Finian Cunningham

What we are seeing on a global scale is the pernicious consequences of Western imperialist powers recklessly trying to carve up the planet to suit their capitalist ruling interests…. This is a global war on the people of the world by elite capitalist power either in direct confrontation using NATO and financial market forces or under the cover of proxy terrorism.”

A failed coup in the North African country of Chad this week is just another repercussion from the wave of Western state-sponsored violence and destabilization, stretching from Central Asia, through the Middle East and across Africa.

The Chadian regime of President Idriss Deby said it had thwarted a coup attempt after it arrested an unknown number of army personnel and at least one opposition politician. Chadian authorities in the capital Ndjamena accused Libya of complicity in the plot by giving cross-border support to rebel groups – a charge denied by Libya.

Whatever the truth about that specific claim, however there seems little doubt that the bid to topple Deby in Chad is bound up with the wave of violence and instability that Western powers have intensified over the past two years in their pursuit of wider geopolitical interests.

Western state meddling – much of it covert and all of it criminal – in Libya and Syria is fanning sectarian, ethnic and political violence into Iraq and as far East as Pakistan, while also rebounding into North, West and Central Africa. This global trail of violence is compounding the explosive legacy already left by more than a decade of American-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Chad’s Idriss Deby has been a staunch supporter of Western powers in their so-called “War on Terror” purportedly aimed at defeating “Islamic extremism.” When France launched its military onslaught on Mali in January this year, Paris claimed that the dramatic move was to “save” the government of Mali from being overrun by “Islamic terrorists.” A more plausible explanation was France using the spurious War on Terror charade to regain a foothold in resource-rich Africa out of old-fashioned imperialist and criminal interests.

Neighboring Chad was one of the first African states to offer troops to support the more than 4,500 French forces dispatched to Mali. That gave French neo-imperialism a welcome “African face.” When French Mirage warplanes first began bombing northern Mali on January 11, they reportedly operated from bases in Chad, which like Mali, is also a former French colony. Chad also sent some 2,000 of its troops to join French forces in routing rebels from the northern Malian cities of Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal. At least 30 Chadian soldiers have been killed in rebel attacks over the past three months compared with six French servicemen.

Chad itself has been wracked with civil war between disparate rebel groups opposed to the authoritarian rule of Deby, who came to power in a military coup in 1990. The Chadian rebels are not motivated by a unifying ideology and the country does not fit easily into a puerile Western narrative of Islamists pitted against a Western-backed regime. The only unifying motive seems to be a desire to get rid of a corrupt ruler. …more

Prominent Bahraini Human Rights Defender Arrested

For Immediate Release: May 2, 2013

Washington, D.C. – Bahrain’s crackdown on human rights defenders continued today with the arrest of another prominent figure, Naji Fateel. Human Rights First notes that the arrest is the latest in a string of recent events calling into question the Kingdom’s claims of reform and progress.

“Naji Fateel was taken from his home in Bani Jamra at dawn. We hear he is being held without charge at an unknown location,” said Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley. “Naji joins many other human rights defenders already in custody in Bahrain and should be immediately released if not charged with a recognizable offense. Bahrain cannot expect the world to believe that their nation is peacefully working toward progress, especially when arrests like this reveal the Kingdom’s real intention to carry on its crackdown.”

Fateel is a board member of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) and has been arrested several times previously for taking part in illegal assemblies. His home has been frequently raided by police.

“Naji Fateel was criticizing the authorities because of their human rights violations,” BYSHR director Mohammed al Maskati told Human Rights First. “The authorities in Bahrain believe they are immune from international criticism when they target human rights defenders like Naji.”

Leading Bahrain human rights activists including Nabeel Rajab, Zainab al Khawaja and Abdulhadi Al Khawaja remain in prison in Bahrain, as do several medics sentenced after treating injured protestors. …more